Lose to Gain, Gain to Lose
by Witch In The Water
Summary: The snap of a twig sent her running blindly into a hard warm body and strong arms. Her breath caught in her throat and her body wouldn't move. All she could do was slowly lift her face. Her blue-sliver eyes met obsidian. One last tear slipped down her ashen cheek just before everything faded to black.


**Hello my fellow Narutards!**

**Soooo... yeah. I'm new to fanfiction and this is my first story. Constructive criticism is welcome. I'm going to try to keep to the original character's personalities as much as i can, so if you think they're OOC, please let me know so i can try to fix it. OH! and the chapters will get longer. **

Shapes…. Shadows… the pounding of her heart rang in her ears as she ran, terrified …. _Blood… so much blood_. She was soaked in it - in someone else's blood. It dripped thickly from her sullied clothes and normally white hair. But she was too frightened to care. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she sprinted through the trees. But it seemed that the forest was against her. The branches tore and grabbed at her skin and blood stained hair. The ground was uneven and with no moon to guide her steps she easily tripped over her small five-year old feet.

_I have to run… Get up! Daddy! Mommy!...Momma told me to run… but… she said she would be right behind me…. WHERE IS SHEE! _ Her lungs heaved, trying to catch her breath as tears began to stream down her round cheeks. Her breathing sped up as panic filled her mind. Sobs began to tear through her sore throat.

A hiss and the rustle of leaves was all it took to set her sprinting again as a scream ripped from her lungs. It did not matter where she went; she just had to get away, even if Mommy... Mommy… _Coward…_ a cruel voice, her voice, whispered through her head. Her body froze, eyes wide. _No. They told me to run… but… _

The snap of a twig sent her running blindly into a hard warm body and strong arms. Her breath caught in her throat and her body wouldn't move. All she could do was slowly lift her round, tear-stained face. Her blue-sliver eyes met obsidian. One last tear slipped down her ashen cheek just before everything faded to black.

…..

Just five more hours and they would be home. Just five more! However, it was already an hour passed sundown so Kakashi had told them to set up camp. Anxious to be home after a month-long mission, Itachi thought they should continue. But neither he nor his cousin, Shisui, was captain. Kakashi was. So therefore there would be no negotiations.

Not only did Itachi want go home to see his five (soon to be six) year old little brother, Sasuke, but something felt off tonight. The forest was quiet and the atmosphere held something that set him on edge. He caught Kakashi's eye and gave him a look of warning and caution which he nodded his head to indicate his understanding then gave the same look to Shisui.

Now that everyone was on the same page, they then proceeded to set up camp and lay out the necessary precautions around the clearing.

Hours after dinner, well into the night, Itachi sat up in a tree a few feet away from the camp keeping watch. A high-pitched screech tore through the air. When a light breeze blew in his face he smelt it, the distinctive metallic odor of human blood - too much blood. Itachi took off through the trees to investigate. He knew his team mates would be right behind him, if the scream hadn't woken them up then the stench would have.

He heard her first, the sobs of a small child, lungs gasping for breath, the crunch of leaves and the faltering of small feet on bumpy, clammy earth. Then Itachi saw her, a little five-year old girl. Her long hair, which was following behind her in damp, clotted segments, was stained crimson as well as her shredded and torn little night-dress. The copious tears she shed mixed with the blood smeared on her rounded features, causing it to run in streaks down her face. Her silver eyes were swollen but wide with panic and terror.

Itachi silently climbed down from the tree when suddenly she stopped. A look of realization and horror crossed her face, her eyes stared blindly at nothing, her body trembled, her lips quivered and he faintly heard her mutter something about "Mommy."

He saw her body twist slightly like she was going to turn and run, when Kakashi dropped right behind her, snapping a twig. Like a panicky deer, she fled.

Itachi stepped out from behind the tree to catch the terrified girl. He'd been ready to hold her if she fought back… but she didn't. She just stood there, trembling in his embrace, clutching his shirt in her tiny fists. Slowly, as if she was afraid of what she might see, she tilted her sallow face to look at him. She stared into his eyes then her's glazed over and her body went limp.

Itachi held the unconscious child close to his body and looked to Kakashi for orders.

"Taker her back to camp, clean her up, and stay there. Shisui and I will follow her tracks back and investigate."

With that, they went their separate ways.

Itachi carried the small child over to the small stream running a few yards from the camp. He set her close to the water's edge to rinse her silken white hair and proceeded to strip the girl of her soiled clothes and wash the recently dried blood off her pale skin with a rag.

Once he determined she was clean enough, he carried her to the encampment, clothed her in his spare set, wrapped her in his blanket and set her on his cot. He sat himself beside the girl's head and stared at her face.

Seeing a child this young painted crimson reminded him of his own tormented childhood. Only this girl had been in the thick of things. Looking at the amount of blood on her, she had more than likely seen the slaughter where as he had only seen the aftermath of a recently fought battle. He both empathized and sympathized with her.

She whimpered and he found himself stroking her hair, whispering sweetly to her that she was safe and that everything would be alright. When she calmed down, she curled into a ball, using his thigh as a pillow. _Just like Sasuke_ he thought to himself.

When it would storm in Konoha, his little brother would sneak into his room, curl up next to him and use his chest as a head rest. Lightning would strike outside Itachi's window, Sasuke would whimper, and Itachi would pet his soft obsidian black hair to sooth his worries.

Itachi spent the rest of the night like that – thinking of his otouto and comparing the two children.


End file.
